The bout was the first of six FUEL TV-broadcast main card contests and followed the evening’s Facebook streamed preliminary bouts.

MacDonald looked to take the fight to the floor in the early going, but Lawlor kept the action on the feet and delivered a crushing left hand to the chin. A right behind the ear follow shortly after, and MacDonald’s night was over before it ever really began. The whole process took just 50 seconds.

“It feels great,” Lawlor said after the victory. “I came back here started signing the checks — forgot what it was like to win and almost walked off without it. I really needed this win coming off a bad loss, a long lay off, switching camps and moving basically my whole life. I really needed something to validate that I’m making the right decisions in life.”

With the much-needed win, Lawlor (8-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) improves to 2-1 in his past three fights. Meanwhile, if MacDonald (25-16 MMA, 6-8 UFC) does walk away form the sport, as he hinted before the bout, he does so on a disappointing 1-3 run.

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